Umrao Jan Set

This piece is inspired by Umrao Jan Ada - an early novel written in Urdu language. The novel is about a woman who narrates her tales of self discovery using art and poetry.

Umrao Jan woes originate in a typical patriarchal mold. As a young girl, she is kidnapped in an act of vengeance against Umrao’s father for giving testimony against him. The villain sells her to a Lucknow Kothi—a high-culture space also operating as a brothel.

At the Kothi, Umrao receives an education and induction into arts and culture by an elderly who recreates Umrao as a civilized poet-cum-entertainer. Her quest for knowledge and attainment of self-confidence to handle a predominantly male world takes place within this space. Thus, the tale of exploitation turns into a narrative of self-discovery. Umrao Jan Ada emerges as a voice far ahead of her time.

The empowerment of Umrao is in many ways linked to her profession. At a time when women were more or less completely dependent on men for financial and social sustenance, sex work emerged as one kind of a safety net and Umrao used her body and knowledge to make profit.